THE PPP and the PPP/ Civic (PPP/C)Government have always determined, moreso since our democratic return to Office in October 1992, to work assiduously to bridge the development gap between the urban areas of Guyana and the hinterland areas, where most of our Amerindian brothers and sisters live, by, inter alia, ploughing more and more resources into the social services sector and on infrastructure, including the construction and the rehabilitation of roads and bridges and the concomitant improvements in transportation and the communication sectors brought about as a result of Government’s provision of ATVs, boats/outboard engines, tractors, buses, pickups, and transmitting sets to the mostly Amerindian hinterland.
This increase in resource allocation and consequential improvement of living standards are evident if one examines the perennial arithmetical progression in annual budgetary allocations to the Regional Democratic Councils(RDC) under education delivery, health services and public works programmes in all of the ten administrative regions. The increases as a percentage of the entire budget, both capital and current, have been greater in Regions 1,7, 8, and 9,
The PPP/C Government has never used the excuse of difficulty of access and cost of access as the PNC did to justify neglect and failure to provide the social services and required infrastructure. We have worked to correct the historical injustice of the previous government and to integrate our hinterland communities into the mainstream of national development, even more recently placing more focus on the transformation of the village economy.
Great have been the challenges, but so also has been the resolve on the part of the Amerindian people and the PPP/C Government to bring improvement to the lives of the hinterland people.

Meeting  residents of Oronoque                                 In conversation with the Tassawini Tashao
A recent visit I made to the Matarkai sub region of Region One, in the company of several Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and Region One RDC senior personnel allowed me not only to view, to assess and to compare the extent and the quality of development that has been taking place in that sub region, but also to be informed by residents’ opinion of the transformation that has been taking place. And nowhere was this more noticeable than in the extensive works done along the Matthew’s Ridge to Baramita route to widen, grade, shape, compact with loam and resurface the almost 50 KM of previously difficult and hazardous terrain and the several bridges and culverts that were either rehabilitated or constructed by the North West Investment Coy, a Company owned and managed by Mr John Phillips and with enough machinery, equipment and skilled personnel to earn the envy of many on the coastal plain.

En route to  Baramita Village                                                                Pupils of Baramita Primary
The Journey that took us three hours 52 minutes by pickup from the Matthew’s Ridge ration store to the northern end of the Baramita airstrip on Sunday, April 23, 2006, now took one hour 37 minutes.
And even as we listened to some concerns expressed that there were some negative impacts occasioned by the construction of the roadway, including illegal entry of persons to the village, illegal mining and associated pollution of creek water, increase in volume of alcoholic beverages brought into the village and alcohol consumption by mostly young men of the village, we were reminded by others that this road would lead to a boost in the delivery of social services and to increased economic activity. Residents could now access better health care at the Pakera Hospital at Matthew’s Ridge; goods could now be procured from Matthew’s Ridge and Port Kaituma in larger quantities and at less cost. Baramita farmers now have access to a much larger market for their produce, including Matthew’s Ridge, Arakaka, Port Kaituma and the mining areas such as Eye Lash, Five Star; and social workers, educators, and health care providers could visit Baramita with greater frequency to provide services and at less cost.
The exploration works of the manganese company now at Matthew’s Ridge and its promise of the development of more infrastructure and the creation of jobs provide exciting promises of rapid development.
I urge the Region One RDC and the Baramita Village Council to work together with the manganese company to put in place control measures for the protection and care of the road, especially during rainy weather conditions. This investment has opened up a whole new vista to the 2,100 residents of  Baramita village, one of the remotest villages in our hinterland.
The PPP/ Civic Government continues to undertake the development of road networks in the hinterland in an effort to open hinterland communities to greater social and economic opportunities.
We made these commitments to the Guyanese people in our 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2006 manifestos. I am happy to join with honest Guyanese to say aloud, “We have been delivering, notwithstanding the challenges, no matter the cost”.
It’s a need we must satisfy.